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There was an open house for Down town line (Metro/MRT) yesterday. This is a 12 station line which started in 2010 around the same tome when Chennai Metro started. I was involved in one of the stations. All the stations are underground. To mark the open house various student Programmes were conducted and also free rides until evening.

It is always a pleasure to see a project getting completed whether it is a road or rail project particularly when one is involved in the project.

Took some pictures and videos. Will try to post next week._________________mskumar
TJ

[quote="mskumar"]As informed earlier, the photos clicked during DTL 2 open house in Singapore
are listed below

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I forget to add an important info on this section. This DTL2 line also faced similar problem like CMRL. One of the contractor ALPINE, European Construction Major went bankrupt and abandoned the project in the middle 2013 (both Tunnel and Station construction).

However this has not impacted the completion of the project. In fact the completion was advanced by 2 months against the originally planned schedule.

The line is to be opened for revenue service coming Sunday._________________mskumar
TJ

BEIJING: China on Thursday demonstrated the integration of West Asia in its New Silk Road connectivity project by flagging a train from its trading hub of Yiwu to Tehran.
The container train will cover a journey of 10,399 km in its maiden journey to West Asia in14 days. It will exit China through Alataw Pass in western China’s Xinjiang province, and then pass through Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan before heading for the Iranian capital. Yiwu is already connected by trains that head for Duisburg in Germany and Madrid.
In a recent visit to Iran Chinese President Xi Jinping gave a new geopolitical dimension to the Beijing-Tehran relationship by signing a pact that would be valid for 25 years. A strategic partnership agreement that was inked covers military and security cooperation, including intelligence-sharing.
Xinhua reported that 4,000 businessmen from West Asia live in Yiwu, where more than 180 companies from the region have made investments. In 2015, the city exported goods worth $8.8 billion dollars to West Asia.

Iran in the Belt and Road loop as first train from China arrives
Author: Atul Aneja

BEIJING: The first train from China’s trading hub of Yiwu has arrived in Tehran on Monday, signalling Iran’s firm integration in the Beijing led-Belt and Road connectivity initiative along the New Silk Road.
The train ferrying 32 containers completed its 14-day journey, covering over 10,399 km, after passing through the arid landscape of Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan in Central Asia.
Iranian Railway Minister Mohsen Pourseyyed Aqai pointed out on Monday that the train, covering 700 km a day, had demonstrated that it was possible to substantially slash transit time for goods arriving in Iran from China. Compared to the railway option, cargo ships, setting sail from Shangahi take nearly 45 days to arrive at the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas.
“The arrival of this train in less than 14 days is unprecedented,” observed Mr. Aqai.
Analysts point out that by joining China on the railway map, Iran was establishing solid structural linkages with Eurasia along the Silk Road Economic Belt.
Yin Gang, a West Asia researcher the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, anticipates that Iran would become an active participant in the Belt and Road initiative.
“Iran is currently in desperate need of investment for infrastructure construction. However, as oil prices are low now, Iran’s revenue in this sector has seen sharp decrease. At the same time, China is promoting the belt and road initiative. Iran is expected to become one of the major participants of that initiative,” Mr.Yin was quoted as saying.
In China, there is anticipation that with the recent lifting of sanctions, Iran’s energy infrastructure, including its trans-border pipeline network, will grow—a move that is likely to further deepen Tehran’s strategic linkages with Eurasia.
Last month, People’s Daily, the official newspaper of Communist Party of China, relayed an article which stressed the importance of Iran’s strategic location, underscored by its common borders “with 15 nations, and sea channels on its northern and southwestern coasts”. It added: “The country is expected to play a crucial role in the Belt and Road as an energy hub and access to extensive delivery routes connecting to the Middle East and Eurasia”. During the sanctions phase, China’s energy giants Sinopec and China National Petroleum Corporation had provided technical support to Iranian firms for the development of the giant South Pars gas fields and the oil fields of Yadavaran and North Azadegan, the write-up said.
China’s ongoing technical support is likely to further reduce the rail transit time between China and Iran. The Global Times, a CPC tabloid, is reporting that a China-led consortium has started electrifying the rail track between Tehran and Mashaad, a major pilgrimage city. Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Tehran last month appears to have energised Iran’s integration in the Eurasian fold.

Feb 17 2016 : The Times of India (Delhi)
Boundaries Divide. Some Trains Unite
By Rahul Johri
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Bilal looks nervous as does his father Abiz. After all it's their first trip `abroad'. And the fact that there is so much dependent on the trip only makes it more special. The young man lost his eyesight in one of his eyes and need ed a cornea transplant operation to be able to see with both his eyes.

It is this hope that makes the duo get a visa and then book tickets on Samjhauta Express, a train that has been connecting people of India and Pakistan for almost 40 years.The jour ney for most, like the two, is not just an other train journey it's a trip of hope and dreams, of memories and love.

A brother in Delhi who is wait ing to see his sister after 26 years His mother looks anxious to see the daughter then a girl, now a woman Minutes later, she runs towards her daughter as the train halts to a stop The mother daughter embrace warm ly even as they cry in the cold Delhi winter night.

In fact, it is not uncommon to notice emotions running high for anyone who is remotely related to lives around these trains. Be it the ones taking the train journey or the ones who help in operational func tions of the train. For busy as they might be with the various security checks, they can't help but feel a tug at the heartstrings when they see relatives from either sides exchange emotional hugs or tearful goodbyes It is this journey of hope and dreams that has been built into the very running of this train. Take, for example, the journey of former hockey champion Rahat Khan, who is travelling with a team of young girls from Pakistan, who are to play an `international match' in Jakhar Stadium in India. They take back a trophy and many memories.

Like Rahat Khan put it, “I saw how similar the clothes, the languages are.

It didn't seem like another country at . all.“ For come to think of it, the bor ders were created, divisions made but if there is something that couldn't be aborted, it is the ties that people still have. Eventually, Bilal and his father take the journey back home to Pakistan looking delighted after a successful operation. “Samjhauta is a connection between two hearts--Pakistan and India.“says Bilal.

Agreed the India-Pakistan cricket matches are watched with great interest and debates on the relations between the duo will never end, but there are those common threads, the ones that run deeper than the lines of division. For if one thinks deep, the two countries were created close to seven decades ago, but the essence of the land that was once one, still seeps through many generations.Some daughters married in Pakistan still come home to their mothers in India and grandfathers still take back things for their grandchildren back to Pakistan.

The third leg of Down town Line (DTL3) open house is organised by authorities today. The facility is open to public from 10.00 am to 6.00 pm today. I was involved in one of the station and associated tunneling works fo nearly 4 years.

I will be going to take free ride as it is always a pleasure to join the celebration when the facility is open to public.

Revenue services will commence from next week._________________mskumar
TJ

Enjoyed the open house and free ride of Downtown Line last Sunday. The open house showcaused the salient features of the underground stations. Some stations are CD (Civil Defence) stations that will be used to house people during emergencies. Also participated in the SCDF tour that took us inside some special cells within the station box equipped to treat people exposed to chemical Attack. The deepest station is 40m underground.

A part of this network was started in 2009 and opened in 2015. The works for this leg was started in 2011 and opened in 2017. With this the MRT network in Singapore has increased by 42.3 KM more.

The free ride to public is open yesterday and today. From tomorrow, the regular revenue services start.

Visited the station that I was involved and took photos with some project staff._________________mskumar
TJ